disaster prevention

Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

Dear colleagues,

I hope that this message finds you well and safe.

With apologies for the lengthy delay, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) is pleased to inform you that your organization’s request for accreditation to the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has been provisionally approved, subject to a final decision by the Review Conference.

As you may know, the NPT Review Conference will be held from 4 to 28 January 2022, per notification from the President-designate to all States Parties dated 25 October 2021.

Next steps:

Between 1 and 14 December, each participant from your organization must complete the registration form at https://indico.un.org/event/1000162/registrations/. Online registrations must include the accreditation request letter, including the name of the participant. Additional representatives may be included in a revised accreditation request letter, which should be submitted to diane.barnes@un.org by no later than 14 December 2021.

Kindly note that as a result of public health restrictions implemented in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, participation in the Tenth Review Conference by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is expected to be fully virtual.

It is tentatively expected that open discussions will be viewable on UN Web TV. Accredited organizations wishing to deliver a pre-recorded video presentation to the Review Conference may coordinate with the NGO point of contact, Ms. Allison Pytlak of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).

For additional details, kindly refer to the attached draft information note.

Please contact diane.barnes@un.org with any questions concerning registration.

Kind regards,

United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bobbinassar@gmail.com or bknotts@uua.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. 

[Film Launch] Nuclear Games

On July 23, the eve of the Olympic Games, global youth leaders for peace, climate action, human rights and disarmament will launch

As athletes gather in Japan for the start of the Olympic Games, media attention is focusing on the value of the Games for sports, protection at the Games from the COVID virus, and the Olympic Ideal for Peace and Humanity.

But there are other, more threatening and deadly Games involving Japan – and the entire world – that will continue during the Olympics and after. These Games involve the nuclear arms race and the misguided pursuit of nuclear energy.

Join youth leaders from around the world on July 23 as they launch Nuclear Games, a provocative film plus five ‘manga stories’ and an innovative, animated web documentary designed to attract, educate and engage. Register here!

Program: Nuclear Games launch
A youth-led event organised by Youth Fusion and moderated by Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic)

  • Introduction to Nuclear Games and the issues by:
    • Dr. Andreas Nidecker (Switzerland): President, Basel Peace Office. Creator of the Nuclear Games concept;
    • Kehkashan Basu(Canada): Founder-President, Green Hope Foundation. UN Human Rights Champion. Winner, 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize. Member, World Future Council. Winner of the inaugural Voices Youth Gorbachev-Shultz Legacy Award; 
    • Michaela Sorensen(Denmark): Youth Fusion team member. Gender, Peace and Security Program Officer, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament
  • Excerpts from the web documentary and the five manga stories (see below)
  • Discussion after each manga story with young global leaders including:
    • Divina Maloum (Cameroon): Founder, Children for Peace. Co-winner (with Greta Thunberg) of the 2019 International Children’s Peace Prize;
    • Disha Ravi (India): Founder of Fridays for Future India;
    • Kasha Sequoia Slavner (Canada): The ‘Sunrise Storyteller’. Multi-award-winning young documentary filmmaker;
    • Tatsuro Debroux(Japan): Doctor in Law Pompeu Fabra University. Program Officer, Peace Depot. Japan Coordinator, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament;
    • Aigerim Seitenova(Kazakhstan): Head of Programmes @“Wings of Liberty” Public Foundation
      Member of the Core Group of Youth Experts for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Children’s Rights-NY, please visit childrightsny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. 

The Firearms Protocol and the Programme of Action on small arms turn 20

A Double Anniversary: The Firearms Protocol and the Programme of Action on small arms turn 20

2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the Programme of Action on small arms and light weapons and the Firearms Protocol. To celebrate this double anniversary, the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) invite you to a joint high-level side event on the continued importance of the two instruments, a reflection on past achievements and challenges, and thoughts on the way forward in the framework of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The event will also feature voices from around the world through interactive video contributions.

Register here!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org. or bobbinassar@gmail.com. 

Global Citizenship: Foundations for an Interconnected World

CGC 2030 Side Event

Join the NGO Major Group’s Cluster for Global Citizenship to explore how our interconnectivity impacts the United Nations and the UN Sustainable Development goals.

Register here!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Major Group, please visit ngomg.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org.

20th YMCA World Council: “Ignite”

On 3 July 2022, the 20th YMCA World Council will begin. For the first time ever, it’s going to be a hybrid event. We will meet in person in Aarhus, Denmark, and online. We continue to monitor the COVID situation, and try and do the right thing. The priority is for as many as possible to meet, one way or the other, at another vital moment for the global YMCA Movement. Why?

Because our world and our YMCA has been turned on its head by this pandemic, and we need to reconnect: we’ve missed each other. We’re ready to respond to new learning, new imperatives, new roles, and new methods in supporting young people and their communities.

Which is why the World Council theme in 2022 is simply ‘IGNITE.’ It’s a moment to provide the spark and light the flame to take us forward. Specifically, we’ll be igniting our vision, our collaboration, and our solutions. The World Council itself is the global YMCA Movement’s highest decision-making body, bringing together all 120 National YMCA Movements. More than that, it’s the biggest and most important shared space we have.

What do we hope to achieve? At least four things:

First, agreeing and adopting a new Movement-wide strategy, as we look towards a 2030 horizon. Imagine: wherever we are in the world, we all agree on a common vision, mission and goals. Our ‘North Star.’

Second, showcasing ‘solutions’, and specifically ‘youth-led solutions, sharing what we’ve done in identifying, supporting and seed-funding young people’s responses to their own challenges in their own communities, in areas like climate, jobs and mental health and working together – ‘collaborating’ in ‘co-labs’ across the generations – to develop and launch new youth solutions in line with Vision 2030.

Third, strengthening our governance as we elect new officers.

And fourth, just enjoying ‘family’ and fun, as we celebrate and enjoy who we are and where we’re from. Imagine: the ‘great global good’ of the YMCA at play. We really do refuel at World Council….before we ‘IGNITE.’

In person, we’ll do all this in Aarhus, Denmark’s second city. A green and beautiful place, an old city with a young population, a port city with a view on the world, and the stunning conference facilities of the city’s world-famous Concert Hall. We’ll keep you posted about all the practical details. Register from 1st November here.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on CoNGO–the Conference of NGOs in Consultative Relationship with the United Nations, visit www.ngocongo.org. For specific information about how CoNGO and its substantive committees (also known as NGO Committees) work on matters related to the subject of the event on this page, visit NGO Committees. 

2nd Open Science Conference: From Tackling the Pandemic to Addressing Climate Change

You are invited to attend the Second United Nations Open Science Conference, From Tackling the Pandemic to Addressing Climate Change. This three-day virtual Conference will take place on 21-23 July 2021 and is organized by the United Nations Department of Global Communications, the Dag Hammarskjöld Library and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development Goals.

The conference will bring the global discussion on the connection between open science and climate action to the United Nations in New York and will highlight open science initiatives and infrastructures from around the world as well as policies that can strengthen these. Policy makers, librarians, publishers and research practitioners will discuss what open science has learned – and is still learning – from tackling COVID-19, and how this can be applied into actions addressing the global climate crisis, at the interface of science, technology, policy and research.

In cooperation with the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), the Conference will also engage with early career leaders advancing openness in research and education at a time of lockdowns, and has invited them into conversation with established leaders and policy makers in this key area for advancing the 2030 Agenda.

More information on the conference programme, including registration, is available on the website (Twitter hashtag: #OpenScienceUN).

Kind regards,

Division for Sustainable Development Goals, UNDESA

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Education, Learning, and Literacy, please visit facebook.com/NGOCELLatUN.

Financing Global Climate Action and Promoting Digital Solutions

Financing Global Climate Action and Promoting Digital Solutions

Session 4 of the UN DESA Global Policy Dialogues for Climate Action

  • How has the COVID-19 crisis put climate finance at risk? 
  • What are examples of good projects that are leading the path to jumpstart more investment in climate mitigation and adaptation efforts?
  • What are some of the innovative applications of digital technology for mitigating the climate crisis?

Join UN DESA, finance experts, policymakers, and climate and sustainable development practitioners for a discussion of the best approaches for ensuring that climate financing measures are included in rebuilding efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and that such efforts are inclusive and help the most vulnerable. Additionally, experts will discuss emerging digital solutions to the climate crisis, including ideas related to the Internet of Things, for climate adaptation and mitigation and ways to scale them up.

Register here by 29 June 2021: bit.ly/climate30june

More information: bit.ly/DESAdialogues

The event is free and open to all, and will be streamed live on UN DESA’s Facebook page. It will be held in English with captions available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The event is made possible by the United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund. All are welcome!

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org.

World Bicycle Day

The mobility needs of people who walk and cycle – often the majority of citizens in a city – continue to be overlooked, states Share the Road Programme Annual Report 2018, even though the benefits of investing in pedestrians and cyclists can save lives, help protect the environment and support poverty reduction. Meeting the needs of people who walk and cycle continues to be a critical part of the mobility solution for helping cities de-couple population growth from increased emissions, and to improve air quality and road safety.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), safe infrastructure for walking and cycling is also a pathway for achieving greater health equity. For the poorest urban sector, who often cannot afford private vehicles, walking and cycling can provide a form of transport while reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, certain cancers, diabetes, and even death. Accordingly, improved active transport is not only healthy; it is also equitable and cost-effective.

  • The bicycle is a simple, affordable, reliable, clean and environmentally fit sustainable means of transportation;
  • The bicycle can serve as a tool for development and as a means not just of transportation but also of access to education, health care and sport;
  • The synergy between the bicycle and the user fosters creativity and social engagement and gives the user an immediate awareness of the local environment;
  • The bicycle is a symbol of sustainable transportation and conveys a positive message to foster sustainable consumption and production, and has a positive impact on climate.

World Bicycle Day:

  • Encourages Member States to devote particular attention to the bicycle in cross-cutting development strategies and to include the bicycle in international, regional, national and subnational development policies and programmes;
  • Encourages Member States to improve road safety and integrate it into sustainable mobility and transport infrastructure planning and design, in particular through policies and measures to actively protect and promote pedestrian safety and cycling mobility, with a view to broader health outcomes, particularly the prevention of injuries and non-communicable diseases;
  • Encourages stakeholders to emphasize and advance the use of the bicycle as a means of fostering sustainable development, strengthening education, including physical education, for children and young people, promoting health, preventing disease, promoting tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitating social inclusion and a culture of peace;
  • Encourages Member States to adopt best practices and means to promote the bicycle among all members of society, and in this regard welcomes initiatives to organize bicycle rides at the national and local levels as a means of strengthening physical and mental health and well-being and developing a culture of cycling in society.

To learn more about how and why the UN commemorates this unique observance, visit un.org/en/observances/bicycle-day.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-NY, please visit ngocsd-ny.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org. For more information on the NGO committee on Mental Health, please visit ngomentalhealth.org. 

[Laudato Si Dialogue] Critical opportunities in 2021 to create change: call for an integral path

This webinar will highlight key political opportunities in 2021 to create change, with a focus on the UN climate conference (COP 26) and the UN biodiversity conference (COP 15) and the need for an integral approach. We will hear from the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and from indigenous and youth leaders on the key role these conferences must play in building back better after the COVID 19 pandemic, achieving global goals, restoring harmony between humanity and nature, and building a culture of care and justice.

Register here!

Participants:

  • Moderator: Christine Allen, CAFOD Director
  • Representative from the Dicastery, Fr Augusto Zampini
  • Representative from COICA (Amazonia), Gregorio Mirabal
  • Global Youth movement representative, Ditebogo Lebea, Climate Activist and Youth Programmes Associate at South African Institute of International Affairs

Watch the event here:

youtube.com/c/GlobalCatholicClimateMovement

facebook.com/GlobalCatholicClimateMovement

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the Committee of Religious NGOs at the United Nations, please visit rngos.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, please visit facebook.com/NGOCoRIP. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org.

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